


Cold

by Koschei_Oakdown



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 03:37:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17890754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koschei_Oakdown/pseuds/Koschei_Oakdown
Summary: Trapped by a storm





	Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to DC Comics

A flash of lightning split the sky, illuminating dark clouds and striking the ground. With ease, Hal twisted out of the way. Storms held little challenge to him, he was the best pilot in the universe. When he looked back, however, Sinestro was gone, no longer flying after him.

For a moment, Hal hung stationary in the air, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then he was diving towards the ground. Though the wind and rain battered at him, though it was freezing and he was soaked to the skin, only one thought was in his mind. Nothing would deter him from his path, nothing would stop him from reaching Sinestro. Bad weather was no match for him.

His flight wasn't the problem, it was his eyes. Through the storm and the dark sky, Hal could see very little, even as he desperately scanned for any sign of green light. "Sinestro!" he called, with both his feet on the ground now, a hand up to shield his eyes as he turned one way and another. And there, he could see, just the briefest flash of green.

No thinking was involved, Hal dashed over to drop to his knees beside Sinestro, who was little more than a dark shape on the ground, the storm almost completely concealing the green of his suit. The light of Sinestro's ring was dim, but it hadn't left yet so Hal could assume Sinestro was still alive, and he tried not to think about alternatives.

"Sinestro!" Hal shouted, maybe a little louder than was strictly necessary, even over the rain that was hammering down. He reached out and shook the unmoving Lantern's shoulder. "C'mon, wake up!" This situation was desperate, he had no way of getting Sinestro to help, not in this storm, not without risking Sinestro's life.

Already, Hal was coming up with wild ideas to accomplish the impossible for Sinestro's sake, but he was interrupted by a quiet groan. "Sinestro? You alright?" Now the volume did decrease, though Hal still squinted against the rain to see. It was all but unbearable.

"Abin?" Yellow eyes flickered open, shining through the blurry effect of the rain. For just a moment, in the gaze searching out Hal's, the bright light of hope swam. Then it dimmed. Sinestro's disappointment was visible and it hurt.

"Jordan," Sinestro corrected himself, tone quite neutral, nothing compared to the one of before. And Hal wrestled his sudden surge of jealousy into submission, convincing himself he didn't care if Sinestro would rather be with a dead Lantern. In a few minutes, Sinestro would be the dead Lantern.

Shoulders shaking, expression tight, it was clear Sinestro was in pain as he tried to get up and there was no way he would be able to fly in this storm. So, quick to put a stop to any plans in that direction, Hal rested a hand on Sinestro's shoulder, holding him down. "Don't move," he advised. "You might be hurt. Hang on."

"To what?" Sinestro asked, confused. When no alternatives or answers were given, Sinestro grabbed onto Hal's shoulder and Hal had to smile at the distinctly alien behaviour. It faded quickly however, for he'd performed a medical scan and the results weren't pretty.

Slamming back into the ground at top speed had left a variety of bruises over Sinestro's skin. No doubt that would be painful in the morning. Right now, however, there was no way Sinestro would be able to continue the flight.

"We should find shelter," Hal suggested to Sinestro, voice raising again because a new surge of intense rain had hit. "Until this storm passes." Although Sinestro didn't respond, Hal scanned their surroundings and spotted the dark silhouette of something tall. "There's some trees over there!" he let Sinestro know brightly.

Too quiet for Hal to hear over the wind, Sinestro muttered something, then spoke louder, "Even I know you aren't that idiotic, Jordan." Using the grip he still had on Hal's shoulder, he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Try taking me over there and I will kill you before the lightning does."

It was the response Hal had been expecting and despite himself, despite the situation they were in, he smiled. "Fair enough," he said, and then his gaze caught on something else. "How about that cave? Think you can make it?" With his hand, he indicated, and Sinestro's gaze drifted to the dark shape in the distance. "I can carry you, if you want," Hal quipped.

The withering glance Sinestro shot at him had Hal laughing, though he stopped quickly when the other Green Lantern began struggling to his feet. For maybe a moment, Hal managed to hold back, then he was sweeping forward and slinging one of Sinestro's arm around his shoulders. Together, they staggered to the cave, rain falling all around.

Once there, once safely tucked back away from the entrance, so only a speck of light was visible in the distance, Hal helped Sinestro to the ground before taking an exhausted seat beside him. His head rested back against the cold stone wall. Being out of the storm was a relief, but he was cold and wet and he didn't know how long his ring power would last.

Yawning, because he was tired on top of everything else, he usually was, Hal glanced to Sinestro. "Can I borrow your battery?" he requested, but Sinestro didn't respond. Curled up, on his side, the only movement Sinestro made was the occasional shiver, travelling through his entire body.

Concerned, Hal crawled over and rested his hand on Sinestro's back. The Korugarian was freezing, like an ice block. "Hey, you OK?" Even as he asked, Hal extended his personal force field, letting it envelop Sinestro with warmth. The amount of ring charge he had left didn't matter, he only wanted to keep Sinestro from developing alien hypothermia.

"No," Sinestro muttered. "I am stuck on this backwater planet and I am cold. Of course I am not 'OK'." The answer was derisive, and made Hal feel a bit stupid for his question in the first place. "I don't have my battery with me," Sinestro added, after a moment, much quieter, as though hoping Hal wouldn't hear that bit. "I left it behind on Korugar."

This took Hal completely by surprise and he was momentarily stunned into silence. "I'm sorry - you left it behind?" Hal couldn't wrap his head around it. "That's so… irresponsible. I feel like my whole world view just shattered, Sin. I'm never forgetting this. Whenever you have a go at me for not having my battery, I'm going to remind you about that time we nearly froze to death -"

"If I had not been so busy putting up with your blabbering about exactly when I would be arriving on Oa, I have no doubt I would have retrieved my battery," Sinestro growled at him, assuredly not amused by Hal's teasing. "I refuse to answer anymore ring calls from you while on Korugar."

Distracted by Sinestro's carelessness, Hal wasn't listening. All jokes aside, this was a problem. "I'd call for backup but I can't get a signal through this lightning," he murmured, mostly to Sinestro, though he was also thinking out loud. "I suppose it's yellow. That's still the stupidest weakness ever, by the way, why couldn't it have been wood or something?"

"You wish to be mortally afraid of trees?" Sinestro responded, as derisive as ever. "Consider having no weakness at all. Were I in the Guardians' position, that is how I would design the rings. Though of course, I would still need a way to control the Lanterns should they ever become violent towards me."

Thankfully, Sinestro's musing seemed to be taking his mind off the occasional shuddering wracking his body. So Hal offered a contribution, "You planning on starting your own Green Lantern Corps? Or usurping the Guardians?"

"Neither," Sinestro answered haughtily. "I was simply speaking hypothetically." A new round of shivering started up and Sinestro fell silent. There didn't seem to be any way Hal could help him. Except, well, he had one idea, but he wasn't sure how Sinestro would take to it.

Throwing caution to the giant storm outside, Hal maneuvered himself so he was pressing up against Sinestro's back. One arm he hooked over Sinestro's torso, and he brought them both down to lie on the ground. "What are you doing?" Sinestro asked him, though he didn't sound all that concerned. Probably, he didn't consider Hal much of a threat to him.

"I'm cold," Hal offered in explanation, though he was lying. This was just to help Sinestro. "So we're cuddling for body heat." To prove his point, he snuggled closer, but Sinestro hardly seemed to notice. He must've been incredibly distracted by the cold, Hal realised, concern growing. Or maybe Sinestro just considered him that insignificant.

Unbidden, Hal's thoughts returned to the momentary name mix up, when Sinestro had mistaken him for Abin Sur. Was that all Hal was, a shallow replacement for someone Sinestro would much rather be with? Just the idea Hal hated with a passion. He wanted Sinestro to like him, and not just the parts that were reminiscent of Abin.

A flash of lightning lit up the cave entrance and Hal couldn't just continue to lie there, doing nothing useful. Though Sinestro was feeling slightly warmer, no longer an ice block to the touch, he was still freezing. Once their rings were out of power, it would be a manner of minutes before they froze to death. Hal had to get help.

Though reluctant to leave Sinestro alone, Hal began to untangle himself from around the cold Korugarian. Whatever Sinestro thought of him, Hal did care so he wasn't going to let the other Green Lantern die. "Where are you going?" Sinestro demanded instantly, and his nails dug into Hal's arm.

"I'll come back," Hal rolled his eyes, but didn't continue trying to extract himself. "I'll just fly through this storm with the power I have left in my ring, get back to Earth, and grab my battery. Then I can come back and we'll have power until this storm is over. You can't tell me you just want to lie here, waiting for when our rings go flat and we die."

In a flurry of movement, Sinestro rolled over and up onto his knees. His grip was now a whole lot tighter on Hal, and his gaze was fierce. "No," he insisted. "If we conserve our power, if we do not attempt ludicrous escapades, this storm will end and we will leave then. Have a little patience, Jordan. And I forbid you to go."

The sheer audacity had Hal grinding his teeth. He was doing this for Sinestro. "Forbid? In case you didn't notice, I'm a Green Lantern too. You can't give me orders. If I want to go, I can." And he would have, were Sinestro's hands not tight around his wrists. "It's not like I can't do it!" Hal exploded. "What, don't you trust me?"

"Don't you trust me?" Sinestro countered, refusing to back down, his nostrils flaring. "This storm can hardly last much longer. By leaving, you place your life at unnecessary risk. It's better if you stay. Do not argue. That is my final say on the matter." Punctuating his statement, Sinestro lifted his chin, gaining just a little bit more height over Hal.

"Ugh, you're so stubborn!" Fed up, Hal ripped his hands from Sinestro's hold. "Why can't you just let me do this?" he appealed. Not even by a bit did Sinestro waver and Hal glanced away, considering. There had to be some way he could get Sinestro to understand.

Jaw set, Hal fixed his gaze back on Sinestro, and his expression was fierce. "Look, even if there is a chance I do somehow get killed, I don't care about my life. Not when yours is at stake. I get it, I do, you don't care about me like I care about you so just let me do this and then -"

"What are you talking about?" Sinestro sounded more annoyed by the second. "Of course I care about you. I'm trying to stop you from getting killed doing something you have no need to do." When Hal opened his mouth to protest, Sinestro held up a hand to forestall him. "I don't doubt your abilities. I know you have a better chance of flying through that storm than I."

Even in the middle of an argument, Hal couldn't help but be flattered, a warm glow of pleasure lighting up his face, and he ducked his head. It wasn't anything he didn't know already, but having Sinestro confirm it was like, awesome. "There is still risk," Sinestro continued, and Hal looked up. "We cannot take the chance you will fail. It will place us in a worse position than now, if you are injured or lost, and we will most likely both die. Do you concede?"

As Hal was starting to see the sense of it, and distracted by Sinestro's use of the word, 'we', he just nodded. "Fine. Whatever you say. But if the storm hasn't stopped when I only have enough power to get back to Earth, I'm going." There was no way he was letting Sinestro freeze to death. That was a horrible boring way to die.

Although making a quiet displeased sound, Sinestro didn't argue, just lay back down. If the time did come when Hal would have to leave, the argument would probably start all over again. That time though, Hal was determined he would be the victor, not Sinestro.

Putting that aside for now, Hal returned to the position he'd previously been in, pressed up against Sinestro's back. It was surprisingly comfortable, despite the cold stone floor, and he had to resist to urge to nuzzle far too close. Sinestro was still shivering, but his ring had started to dry him out, so it wouldn't be much longer before he was in a more stable position.

After a moment, where the only sound was the rain outside and the thunder overhead, Sinestro squirmed around so he was facing Hal. They were quite close, Hal could see tiny drops of water still clinging to Sinestro's nose. Without thinking, he reached out, intending to brush them away.

Of course, Sinestro caught his hand before it could connect, and he rolled Hal over to press his back against the ground. "I do trust you," he said. It was a very surreal experience for Hal, having a freezing cold alien on top of him confessing trust while the storm battered overhead. But it wasn't a bad experience. "Perhaps not with your own safety… but there's no one I'd rather have with me right now."

It sounded so sincere, despite the doubt that had still been nagging in the back of Hal's mind, that Sinestro would rather be with Abin Sur, that the trade would be very easy. "That's not just 'cause I'm the best at flight in the Corps, is it?" Hal joked instead of bringing his doubt up. It didn't matter, what Sinestro was telling him was what mattered. And Hal believed it.

"A little, but no," Sinestro answered him, amusement colouring his tone. "Though you are that. Simply… I appreciate your company." Hal smiled, but Sinestro was quickly distracted, shivering again. After a second of hesitation, a glance to Hal, Sinestro rested his head on Hal's chest. It had to be quite warm there, Hal supposed, and he didn't mind in the slightest. Liked it even.

It was quiet. That was important somehow, and it took Hal a moment to realise why, because he'd been so distracted with watching Sinestro. He sat up, suddenly, and Sinestro slid to the ground with a murmured protest. "Sin - the storm!" Only then did Hal realise Sinestro was in a disgruntled pile on the ground. "Uh, sorry." He offered a hand to Sinestro who took it and stood, though with difficulty.

The pattering of rain, the crack of thunder had all stopped, and they might only have a small window of opportunity to take advantage. Hal was determined not to lose it. Even as he helped Sinestro outside, he couldn't help but think, once again, the Korugarian had been right. There really had been no need to maybe sacrifice his life.


End file.
